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At the ripe old age of 23, it’s hard to believe any player has packed as much into their career already as Arsenal transfer target Mauro Icardi. Serie A hotshot, captain of a major team at a young age, an affair with a team-mate wife who then became his and transfer speculation left, right and centre.

Makes Mario Balotelli seem pretty standard eh? All drama aside, there’s a simple reason why you’ll keep hearing Icardi’s name until the window shuts: Goals. The hottest commodities in football are goal-scorers and if they carry a name and can sell shirts – that’s the icing on the cake really.

Originally in the La Masia Academy at Barcelona, the Argentine forward could make the breakthrough at the Camp Nou and subsequently moved to Sampdoria on loan. This is where Icardi began to make his name, as a record of 11 goals in 33 games for Sampdoria drew the attention of bigger clubs.

A move to the San Siro followed for what seems a miserly €11.7 Million and in the last two years, his career has really taken off. In 2014/15, the striker recorded a return of 27 goals and 9 assists in 48 games and followed that up last season with 16 goals and 4 assists in 34 games.

The Rosario-born forward was even rewarded with the captaincy of Inter in recognition for his contribution, so it seems a certainty that Premier League clubs would go all out for the player, right?

It’s off the field where the questions about Icardi begin to arise. Whilst at Sampdoria, the striker began an affair with the wife of team-mate and fellow Argentine Maxi Lopez, news which gripped all of Serie A when it broke.

Wanda Nara, who has three children with Lopez, is an Argentine media personality and there have been concerns about her impact on his career as the squeaky clean image has been replaced with a bad-boy personality, tattoos galore. The most notable of these is a large piece on his right-arm of the three children that Nara and Lopez share. Mauro obviously enjoys the quiet life then.

The player has a contract with Inter Milan until 2019 and with three years remaining, it’s crunch time from a contract perspective. Inter and Icardi don’t seem on the same page in this regard though.

Nara, who also acts as Icardi’s agent, revealed in early July that “From what I can see, Inter have put Icardi up for sale. There are many clubs interested. We will evaluate the situation with all due respect for everyone. Mauro would be very sad to leave Inter, but we’ve understood the club’s economic situation and evidently they cannot hold Icardi back”.

So it seems pretty straightforward what’s going to happen, but President Erick Thorir is singing a different tune. “We won’t sell Icardi. We received many offers, even from Napoli, but we won’t sell him. One year ago, we extended his contract; we are like a family, if there are some problems, we can always talk. He’s our captain and an important player, we are happy with him.” Mmm….

Money talks in football and it’s a win-win for Icardi. He either gets a big-money move to another club, signs an extension on a higher salary or runs his contract down to leave on a free.

You can’t see Inter allowing the latter to happen as if the economic issues are true, it doesn’t make any financial sense. As long as the window is open and no new contract is signed, the links won’t go away.

This article was submitted via our Write For Us feature. Think you can do better? Submit your own article via the link below, and give yourself the chance of winning monthly cash prizes…

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Manchester United lost their second successive Premier League game and third in all competitions in the space of a week as Watford ran out 3-1 winners at Vicarage Road on Sunday lunchtime.

That defeat sees United already six points behind their cross town rivals Manchester City and it was the first time since Jose Mourinho was in charge of FC Porto that he has lost three consecutive matches.

It has been a week to forget for United but on the balance of play, you can’t say that Watford didn’t deserve their win. That win was the first at Vicarage Road for Walter Mazzarri and his side has now picked up back to back victories in the league.

Let’s now have a look at the three key areas that led to Watford recording their first win over United in 30 years…

United couldn’t deal with the aerial threat

United’s defence had a long and somewhat torrid afternoon as they struggled to deal with the aerial threat that Watford had. Eric Bailly and Chris Smalling were short of their best and had it not been for David De Gea’s acrobatics then the scoreline could have been even worse for Jose Mourinho’s side.

They had a very early let off when Smalling and De Gea collided, giving Odion Ighalo a perfect opportunity to open the scoring, but he somehow shanked his effort wide with the goal gaping. A scare for United, but not one that they learnt from.

Especially in the first half they were under constant bombardment from high balls. Sebastien Prodl and Troy Deeney both went close for The Hornets. Deeney called upon De Gea to be at his very best and the Spaniard needed a strong hand to keep out Deeney’s powerful header

The aerial threat was the biggest nuisance but they actually got undone by not tracking the runs from deep in midfield. Etienne Capoue’s opener was symptomatic of this. Watford just had more desire and they were rewarded for all their grit and determination throughout the afternoon.

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Mourinho getting his tactics wrong

After going with a 4-3-3 in the defeat to Feyenoord in the Europa League, Mourinho opted to start with this setup again, only with a different set of midfield personnel. This formation was chosen to bring the best out of Paul Pogba but in doing that it sacrificed the talent of Wayne Rooney.

It seems quite apparent that Rooney and Pogba can play in the same lineup but in doing so, you deprive one of them of being able to fully influence the game. With a midfield three of Rooney, Fellaini and Pogba, Rooney had to take up the right side of centre midfield and was largely ineffectual.

That said, if it was a move to get the best out of Pogba, he offered very little either as he still looks for his first real positive contribution since returning to Old Trafford. Once United reverted to a 4-2-3-1 with Rooney playing in the No.10 role, they looked more dangerous – but again The Red Devils started a game slowly and left themselves playing catch up.

United have failed to score in the first half of a Premier League game in their last three attempts, and they need to be getting a foothold on games much quicker if they are to come away with all three points.

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Walter Mazzarri’s super substitutions

Watford manager Walter Mazzarri may have had to make an enforced second half change when Daryl Janmaat came off injured, but the Italian’s two other substitutions were absolutely flawless and the kind that earn your money as a Premier League manager.

Etienne Capoue was brought off for Juan Zuniga with the move set to be a defensive one as United started to finally edge themselves into the game, but Zuniga’s contribution couldn’t have been better. Less than a minute after coming on he had found the net in a similar way to how Capoue did in the first half. A move that was designed to make sure a point was earned had now turned into a large possibility of being three.

And the afternoon would prove even better for Mazzarri and Watford as his third and final substitution played a large part in making sure Watford secured all three points. With Issac Success coming on for compatriot Ighalo, he harassed Eric Bailly late on and edged his way into the box, by the time his pass had found fellow sub Zuniga, Maroune Fellaini had already wiped out the former Napoli man.

All that was left to do was for captain Troy Deeney to thump home the awarded spot kick and the party had well and truly begun at Vicarage Road. Mazzarri not only got his substitutions right but the 3-5-2 formation was crucial, as it gave Watford additional men to go up against an already dysfunctional United midfield. The Watford boss got his tactics spot on and when you do that it doesn’t matter who you go up against, you always give yourself half a chance of winning.

A fantastic result for Watford and an afternoon to forget for United.

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Liverpool made it five wins in a row at the weekend, beating Swansea 2-1 at the Liberty Stadium.

A number of players stood out in the win, which takes Jurgen Klopp’s side to fourth, but one man singled-out by the plaudits was James Milner.

The 30-year-old was on hand to score an 84th winner from the spot after Roberto Firmino was fouled.

The former-England international has deservedly earned praise after a series of eye-catching displays at left-back.

Milner has not only impressed in open play, but also boasts four goals this season, all of which have come from the spot.

Liverpool had to come back from a goal down after Leroy Fer’s opener, with Firmino scoring the equaliser with his third of the season before Milner put his penalty away.

Klopp came in for criticism in the summer for not bringing in a new left-back to compete with Alberto Moreno, but if Milner keeps going as he is then the Spaniard’s error-prone performances will be a distant memory.

Whether it’s down to the rejigged Champions League seeding or some sort of spell cast upon the competition, this week’s set of fixtures produced some extraordinary results and moments. Matchday five is so often crucial in the four team groups, with clubs wanting to avoid the pressure of a crucial final group game.Football doesn’t get much better than the action from Tuesday and Wednesday, so here’s a handy recap of the best bits.

Record-breaker in Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund against Legia Warsaw was not the most appetising of games on paper. A comfortable victory for Thomas Tuchel’s men was on the cards. It was comfortable, eventually, but an early goal from the visitors turned a routine group game into a record-breaking 12 goal thriller.

[ffc_insert title=”European Roundup” image=”https://www.footballfancast.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/2016-11-23T210726Z_122936846_MT1ACI14681758_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-CHAMPIONS-CEL-FCB-2.jpg?admin” link=”https://www.footballfancast.com/european-round-up/euro-roundup-your-weekly-continental-fix” link_text=”Your weekly Euro fix” ]

With seven goals scored in the first half, there was an inevitability that this would be one of the most extraordinary games in living memory.

From there on in, it did not disappoint. Eventually finishing 8-4 to Dortmund, with a hat-trick for the returning Marco Reus to maintain Dortmund’s position sitting pretty atop of Group F.

The 12 goals is the mostÂscored in a single Champions League game, Dortmund’s eight are the most scored by any one team in a Champions League game, and Legia’s four are the most scored by a losing team in the Champions League. Quite a game!

Questionable priorities

Having spent years fighting to get back into Europe’s premier cup competition, Tottenham Hotspur fell at the earliest hurdle. Given a group without any of the biggest names, Spurs were still in a challenging situation in the most even group in the competition. Without a nominal walkover member of the group, Spurs struggled.

An abject defensive display against Monaco cost Mauricio Pochettino’s team their Champions League status and the Spurs manager is left with plenty of questions to answer about his prioritising of the Premier League. Resting players for a must-win Champions League game has not gone down well and makes you wonder if clubs only see the Champions League as a money maker, rather than a competition to actually win.

Oh, Carlo

Carlo Ancelotti has already broken some unwanted records at Bayern Munich. One of which is that he has already lost three games, a milestone that Pep Guardiola only reached once he’d already wonÂhis first Bundesliga title.

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Without intensity in possession and all at sea defensively, Bayern were simply outplayed by Rostov as they fell to a 3-2 defeat that guarantees they now cannot win their group.

Defeat to Dortmund last weekend meant this was a massive game for Ancelotti, he is already under pressure thanks to Bayern’s recent results and their position in the league, and defeat to European minnows does nothing to help.

Stepping into the shoes of Guardiola was always going to be an unenviable challenge and the Italian is currently failing to achieve even the bare minimum for Bayern.

Arsenal flounder

November has been yet another troubled month for Arsenal. Poor performances throughout have seen yet more grumpy Gunners after a lacklustre display saw them fortunate to finish with a draw against PSG.

Relying on Ludogorets to get a result against the Ligue 1 champions is not where Arsenal want to be – obviously – meaning another year in the second group spot is likely.

Istanbul comebacks

Just like Liverpool in 2005, Besiktas pulled off a comeback from 3-0 to draw 3-3 with Benfica in Istanbul on Tuesday night.

The result keeps Besiktas in realistic contention for a place in the last 16 despite the Turkish club only winning one of their five group games so far.

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After the disappointment of not only missing out on a maiden Premier League title last season but also once again finishing behind Arsenal, Tottenham had every right to be optimistic going into this campaign as they looked to build on their third-place finish in 2015/16 – a position which subsequently earned them the addition of a Champions League adventure to look forward to.

In some quarters there has been an element of disappointment as Mauricio Pochettino’s side have seemingly failed to get out of third gear in an early season which has stuttered on the domestic front while their time in Europe’s top club competition was a short one as they once again prepare for life in the Europa League in February.

But if you were to weigh up the season so far in regards to Tottenham’s realistic expectations, then life at White Hart Lane hasn’t been as bad as some would make out. Yes the failure in the Champions League is something that is going to hang over the club for quite a while, but they are still very much in the mix when it comes to returning to the competition next August.

Last season was something of a freak set of circumstances. To see so many of the so called ‘big clubs’ caught up in turmoil of their own meant that Tottenham were almost in something of a false position, obviously that’s not to discredit any of their fantastic performances but it was always going to be incredibly hard to repeat that this time around.

That’s not because they themselves cannot play at the same standard but there was no way that clubs such as Manchester City and Chelsea were going to tolerate failure again and the only way to combat that was by spending and spending big. With the influx of talent that has arrived to both the Etihad Stadium and Stamford Bridge over the summer that is exactly what they did and it means that the natural order of the Premier League has once again been restored.

Which again means that Tottenham will more than likely be left with the crumbs of fighting for fourth place, but there is no shame in that especially with the financial restrictions that the north London club are under in comparison to their nearest rivals and that restriction comes alongside trying to stay competitive while funding a brand new stadium.

As Arsenal fans will attest, when a new home is being built it means that the books have to be balanced and perhaps there is not the transfer budgets of years gone by. It may have been tough times financially for Arsenal when the Emirates Stadium was being constructed but credit has to go to Arsene Wenger for keeping The Gunners as one of England’s most successful outfits.

And it’s Arsenal where Daniel Levy will look to take inspiration from. The biggest task he has to undertake is to make sure that goings on off the pitch are not to the detriment to matters on it. You would have to say that as of right now then it seems that Levy is carrying out a job well done especially when you take into account Tottenham’s wage structure in relation to the Premier League.

Tottenham have perhaps been accused of being one the top flights lowest payers in terms of wages but if anything it almost highlights how successful that structure has been. So that shows on one hand that you don’t necessarily have to chuck money away to chase success but it also shows that Tottenham to a certain degree are punching above the weight and to be where they are right now not just this season but consistently over the past six years shows a measure of the club’s success.

This a club that has not finished outside the top six in the last six seasons with three top four finishes during that period. A run of league finishes and more importantly stability that most clubs in this division would kill for and if Tottenham can continue that with a new stadium on the horizon then the future looks even more exciting.

With a nucleus of young talent that has committed it’s future to the club then the potential here is almost unlimited but the upward trajectory of the club may well have to level off over the next season or so as Tottenham work way their way through a transitional period of changing home. Should they still be in the hunt for European places during that time then Mauricio Pochettino can only be commended for all the work he would have done.

After last season it was almost going to take a near Herculean effort to match the same level of performances and naturally after the excitement of that expectations were always going to be raised. But even with the race for the title being tougher this time around there is still every reason to be optimistic with goings on at White Hart Lane and with still more than half a season to go who knows where Spurs will end up come May.

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It may seem like only yesterday your free-spirited auntie was leaning over your shoulder, giving a one-on-one lecture on how she recycles wrapping paper into origami ornaments to raise money for single mothers in Namibia as you picked up rogue strands of ribbon and tinsel from under the tree – but believe it or not, St. Nick’s annual visit is now just a matter of days away.

Following tonight’s Merseyside Derby at Goodison Park, English football fans will rather cruelly be starved of Premier League action for precisely one week until Boxing Day – and to make matters worse, forced to spend some time with those weird people they live with, who apparently call themselves family.

Bah Humbug – we suppose it’s not all so bad. But nonetheless, if you can’t handle the wait until all the Boxing Day action, we have a festive tradition to keep you occupied – the good old Christmas Cracker.

Indeed, this Xmas-in-one-gallery includes a classic football-based teaser, a randomly picked but nonetheless scintillating wonder-strike and an intriguing statistic to impress the family with around the Christmas table, in between shoving mountains of Christmas gnosh down your food hole.

So without further ado, have a pull on Manchester City’s Christmas Cracker!

The Teaser – Who Am I?

During my career, I have played with Marc-Vivien Foe, Jonathan Woodgate, Gareth Bale, Andy Cole, Jordan Henderson, Dejan Lovren, Steve Finnan, Benjani, Djibril Cisse and Tal Ben Haim. But I have never played for Manchester City or Liverpool.

Who am I?

A very, very tricky teaser – so we’ll give you one more clue! He’s still playing today, but not in the Premier League.

Click through to last page to reveal the answer.

The wonder-strike – Cheeky Kiki

Stuart Pearce had to wait three games to claim his first win as Manchester City boss and it came from a rather unlikely source – on-loan winger Kiki Musampa, who managed just three goals during his 41-game spell in the Premier League.

Nonetheless, it proved a strike of real significance, as the winner in a match that played a key role in Liverpool finishing outside of the top four (famously beaten by local rivals Everton) and Manchester City sealing eighth place over Tottenham Hotspur.

As the ball fell to Robbie Fowler on the right wing, Liverpool’s defenders were dragged into the box by the Manchester City attack. Musampa moved into the space behind them and the former Reds forward picked him out, leaving the Zaire-born wide man free to unleash a delicate, technically demanding volley past a helpless Scott Carson.

The Stat

Manchester City boast one of the most expensively-assembled sides in Europe, but is it proving good value for money?

Well, some will point to their Premier League position of second place as evidence of decent enough transfer business, but based on the purchase fees of their current squad, every top flight goal has cost the Citizens a staggering £13.85million so far this season.

Just for the record, that could buy you 99 Aston Martin DB9s, or 15% of Paul Pogba.

The Answer – Steed Malbranque

It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for – the answer to our tricky Christmas teaser is Tony Blair’s favourite footballer, Steed Malbranque. ‘The Steed’ plied his trade with the late, great Marc-Vivien Foe at Lyon before arriving in the Premier League with Fulham in 2001, where he linked up with Andy Cole and Steve Finnan.

He then moved to Tottenham, playing alongside Jonathan Woodgate and Gareth Bale, and then Sunderland, where he happened to cross paths with ex-Red Djibril Cisse and former City duo Benjani and Tal Ben Haim.

Stil going strong at the age of 36, the veteran midfielder now plies his trade with Caen in Ligue 1.

West Ham’s move to London Stadium hasn’t exactly been plain sailing so far, but they to seem to have recently begun to pick up some far more positive results in their new home compared to the beginning of the campaign.

They had so many wonderful memories at the Boleyn Ground, which they’ll now need to recreate in order to make London Stadium feel like home following a difficult moving in period.

The Premier League years haven’t been extremely kind to the Hammers, with two relegations and countless battles against the drop to look back on, but they’ve been lucky enough to have some top class players donning the famous claret and blue shirt over the years.

Last season was arguably one of their best in Premier League history, too. Their seventh placed finish saw them return a club record Premier League points total of 62 and they also ended the season with a positive goal difference for the first time in the Premier League history.

But who has scored most of their goals in the Premier League since it began in 1992/1993?

Can you guess West Ham’s top 20 Premier League goal scorers of all time? Then take the quiz below and prove you know your West Ham goal getters from over the years.

Make sure you challenge your mates by sharing your results on social media, and also submit your score on our leaderboard…

NO CHEATING!

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Download the EFQ app on iOS here.

Download the EFQ app on Android here.

Everton’s future looks bright if Sunday’s result against Manchester City is anything to go by.

Youngsters Tom Davies and Ademola Lookman got on the scoresheet as Ronald Koeman’s side humiliated the two-time Premier League champions in a 4-0 rout.

Romelu Lukaku and Kevin Mirallas put the Toffees two up against Pep Guardiola’s men after 47 minutes, and then the teenagers took over.

Davies, who has been part of Everton’s academy since the age of 11, led a counter-attack from the edge of his own box before eventually being played in at the other end.

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While in City’s penalty area, the 18-year-old finished off the clinical move by clipping the ball over goalkeeper Claudio Bravo and into the back of the net.

Lookman, who only signed for the Toffees from Charlton Athletic less than a fortnight ago, had a bit of fortune in his goal.

A poor clearance from John Stones resulted in the ball rebounding off Seamus Coleman and into the path of 19-year-old Lookman, who slotted home from close range.

After the game, fans were full of praise for the teens, tipping the pair to be future Everton stars.

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Relegation for the Premier League champions? Yes, that’s right, it’s a real risk. Last year Chelsea briefly had to look over their shoulders, but the Foxes really are right amongst the bottom of the table tussle in February. Another emphatic defeat saw the King Power Stadium devoid of atmosphere on Sunday and Claudio Ranieri is now favourite for the sack with a number of bookmakers, even thought the club have publicly backed him.

It seems so silly, doesn’t it? ‘There’s no loyalty in football’, ‘has everyone forgotten last season?’. Well, yes, because last season was the past and it matters very little to owners. Relegation would cost Leicester millions of pounds and, although many fans would not trade 2015/16 for Premier League safety, Ranieri is understandably under pressure. The Italian should be under scrutiny for being unable to halt their slide.

The simple truth is, Leicester look like the worst team in the top flight of English football at the moment. Whether that is because of the loss of N’Golo Kante (it isn’t) or it’s that all of these players produced the best form of their careers last season with the momentum they built, Leicester are in very real trouble. After a fascinating weekend, the bottom six are separated by only two points and the champions – despite Crystal Palace’s abysmal showing against Sunderland – look the weakest unit.

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Defensively they are being carved open at will and they have not scored in their last four Premier League matches. Over their four match losing streak, they have conceded ten times. Considering their success was built on the reliability of their backline for much of last season, that is arguably the most alarming area of all. Robert Huth and Wes Morgan are playing like the defenders that made Leicester one of the favourites for relegation the season prior. The Foxes’ title winning campaign was a glorious, victorious outlier, but it has made a fight for Premier League safety a shock.

Hull and Swansea have faced respective periods of doom this season, yet both clubs – thanks to managerial changes – now look a lot stronger. It would be a real surprise if both were relegated and there is a good chance they both make it to safety. Palace always have a chance of putting a string of wins together while Sam Allardyce is at the helm, or that’s at least meant to be the narrative surrounding his appointment, Sunderland have Jermain Defoe and are buoyed by the return of Didier Ndong and Lamine Kone. Palace are the team in the greatest turmoil below Leicester at this point and they have a manager famed for turning such situations around.

Optimism is all good and well, but Leicester’s players are right to be realistic about the danger of the drop. Comments from Kasper Schmeichel this weekend were a needed reminder that even the champions can be relegated.

While it is hard not to feel a twinge of sympathy for the charming Ranieri, he now has possibly the greatest task of his managerial career on his hands. Leicester are an unmotivated, dysfunctional unit and the improvement of teams around them makes them most likely for relegation at this moment in time. It was their spirit that inspired the fairytale of last season and, unless they can reinvigorate that, the champions are destined to be in the Championship next season.

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When Gareth Southgate announces his England squad for next month’s friendly with Germany and World Cup qualifier with Lithuania, he’ll have some difficult decisions to make.

Three Lions selections are always contentious with inevitable points of controversy, but a lot has changed at club level since England’s last outings in November and the old debate of continuity versus form will rear its head once again.

Whilst almost every department will come under the scrutiny of such discussion, it will be most prevalent amongst England’s strike-force. Many felt it was one of the strongest involved in Euro 2016 when Daniel Sturridge, Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Wayne Rooney and Marcus Rashford headed to France last summer and all retained their spots for the November qualifiers, but a few more months down the line and Kane is the only one to truly maintain his form from 2015/16.

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Whereas Rooney’s form has been on the decline for some time, Vardy simply isn’t the same predator who fired Leicester City to last season’s Premier League title with deadly venom on the counter-attack, Rashford has made seven more starts as a winger than a central striker for Manchester United this season, scoring just six times across all competitions, and Sturridge has picked up just 543 minutes in the Premier League, netting only twice, as Jurgen Klopp continues to deem him ill-fitting of Liverpool’s new philosophy.

Inevitably, it seems Southgate will have to turn his attentions elsewhere in search of England’s firepower for the two meetings in March and The Daily Mail believe the Three Lions gaffer will consequentially be running the rule over West Ham’s Andy Carrol this Saturday, when West Brom make the trip to the London Stadium.

The towering striker hasn’t featured for England since 2012 – but the stats suggest he’s worth a recall amid England’s sudden wealth of out-of-form front-men.

The season started like many of Carroll’s since moving to East London in summer 2012; a decent showing on the opening day of the campaign in a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea, challenging the Blues’ backline almost single-handed, instantaneously followed by an injury that would keep him out of action until December.

But since returning towards the end of 2016, Carroll has enjoyed one of those spells that have defined his career as much as his many injury layoffs, where power and presence, combined with cute finishing, has rendered him almost unplayable for opposing defences. West Ham’s results are evidence enough. Since starting against Burnley midway through December, the Hammers have won seven of the nine Premier League games in which Carroll has started; before that, Slaven Bilic’s side had claimed just three top flight victories all season.

Of course, some would argue West Ham’s wayward results were linked with the absence of a natural striker and thus, Carroll has simply fallen into place at just the right time. But individually too, it’s been an impressive few weeks for the former Newcastle man, netting four times in his last four appearances – including a Goal of the Season contender that many are dubbing the best-executed bicycle kick in Premier League history.

Perhaps that’s generous, but the statistics are tough to argue with. In terms of per-ninety-minutes, Kane is the only English striker to rank higher than Carroll in the Premier League this term, whilst the likes of Sturridge, Rooney and Vardy are way below his 0.7 average – that’s despite Carroll producing less efforts at goal than Sturridge, Rooney and even Kane.

The other statistic that stands out is, inevitably, aerial duels won – undoubtedly Carroll’s defining strength, even if other aspects of his game deserve similar, if not equal, praise. Peter Crouch is the only English striker to rank better in this regard, although it’s worth pointing out that no Premier League player averages higher than Carroll per-match at a staggering 9.2.

Once again, Carroll’s tidy finishing proves he’s more than simply a modern-day Emile Heskey – a monolithic lump of brawn to stick the ball to, in the hope of creating some havoc in the final third. Likewise, only one of his Premier League goals this season have actually come via his head. Nonetheless, logic suggests that will be how he’s utilised by Southgate – an alternative option to give England a more direct and physical approach.

Yet, the stats once again work in Carroll’s favour. After four games in charge, it’s unclear what Southgate’s philosophy is or if he even has one. Thus far, we’ve seen quite simply four measured and balanced performances from England, with no real bias between attack and defence, wing or central play one way or the other.

And although they average significantly lesser than the Hammers in terms of long balls per match this season, 70 compared to 57, the Three Lions have still produced 18 crosses per match during Southgate’s short stint in charge. With five being accurate on average and dynamic full-backs Kyle Walker and Danny Rose in fantastic form, the stats suggest Carroll would get the right kind of supply to capitalise in the air – and England could really do with someone who can, winning just four headers in the opposition box throughout Southgate’s four-game reign.

However, there are alternatives for Southgate to consider. Jermain Defoe is continuing to demonstrate his pedigree, even in a rock-bottom Sunderland side at the age of 34, Peter Crouch is enjoying a renaissance after breaking into the Premier League’s 100-club – both have huge experience at international level – and Troy Deeney’s committed character and street-footballer style could appeal to Southgate.

Likewise, although he doesn’t feature in our infographic because he’s operated mainly as a winger this season, Arsenal’s Theo Walcott could also be an option, boasting 14 goals already this term.

But in terms of old-fashioned No.9s enjoying good form, who can offer something a little different, it’s hard to look past Carroll and his imposing 6 foot 4 frame, which could cause Lithuania all kinds of problems and give Southgate tactical variety upon facing Germany. So, do you think Carroll deserves a recall?

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